GCExplorer - An App to Explore Java Memory Management

GCExplorer is a simple application, similar to VisualVM, which allows a user to monitor the JVM memory pools, heap space and garbage collection behaviour of a Java process. It differs from VisualVM in that it the user launches a standard Java process (GarbageGeneratorApp) which can be manipulated from GCExplorer, at runtime, to create new objects on the heap and the results observed visually in GCExplorer.

GCExplorer - A JVM Memory Manager Explorer

We make use of GCExplorer in our Java Performance Tuning training course to teach students the intricacies of the JVM garbage collector, how it is effected by different loads and what JVM parameters to use to configure the Java virtual machine for the optimal performance of your application.

More information on the application can be found at our Java Performance Tuning web site along with the source code for the application. An online demo is available for use. Java 8 is required.